


Crash

by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)



Series: Imagine Tony & Bucky [68]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Everyone Is Alive, Fear, M/M, Panic, Paramedic Bucky Barnes, Police Officer Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaqen_hgar/pseuds/Finely%20Honed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">Prompt: Established relationship au. Imagine paramedic!Bucky on duty and getting called to the scene of a car accident, his heart stops when he recognizes one of the cars as Tony's. (Can make total angst-fest or something with a happy-ending)</span>
</p>
<p>AN: This takes place after the fill <em><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5124134">Patching You Up</a></em>.</p>
<p>He heard Clint asking the question, even as his heart seized up in his chest, and his hands scrabbled for the door handle, already scrambling to get out of the ambulance before everything caught up and solidified in his mind. Because that was Tony’s car—<em>that was definitely Tony’s car</em>—but it couldn’t be Tony’s car, because the car was <em>wrecked</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crash

Bucky braced himself against the dash, almost dropping his phone in the process, while Clint took a corner like he was auditioning to be in the next _Fast and the Furious_ movie.

“If you roll this thing we’ll never live it down,” Bucky pointed out, holding on a little tighter as he finished sending his message off to Tony, shoving the phone into his pocket before something unfortunate happened to the device. “The idea is to get to the accident in one piece, not cause another one.”

“She’d never do that to me,” Clint answered easily, petting the dashboard, his voice going all sweet, “would you, Laura?”

Bucky snorted, and received a glare, held a hand up in surrender. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your moment with _Laura_.”

Clint laid on the horn for a minute, grinning. “S’alright, she likes you.”

“Did you hit your head while I was grabbing our coffee?”

“Not everyone has a _hot detective_ to go home to, Buck. Have some sympathy for the single guy.”

It was ridiculous, but just Clint mentioning Tony had Bucky’s heart beating faster in his chest, had him fighting a smile. He’d expected that to settle down at some point, but they were coming up on two years and if anything it’d gotten worse.

“Which reminds me, are you coming over tonight or not?”

Clint took his eyes off the road for an alarmingly long period of time to study Bucky. “You’re up to something? What’re you up to?”

Bucky shrugged a shoulder. “I can’t invite my friend over to eat, drink, and be merry without an ulterior motive?” Clint snorted, but finally looked back at the road. “Fine. Remember how I told you Tony’s old partner was moving back to New York? Well, tonight is their first night back in town, and he wants to roll out the red carpet.”

“Who’s gonna be there?”

“Rhodey, Steve, Sam,” Bucky began listing names, his voice trailing off as they pulled up to the scene of the accident.

“Holy shit, is that—”

He heard Clint asking the question, even as his heart seized up in his chest, and his hands scrabbled for the door handle, already scrambling to get out of the ambulance before everything caught up and solidified in his mind. Because that was Tony’s car— _that was definitely Tony’s car_ —but it couldn’t be Tony’s car, because the car was _wrecked_.

Distantly, he could hear Clint calling his name, but everything except the fear pounding in his heart was being washed away by flashing lights, fire engines, and police radios. There was already another ambulance on scene, working on someone, but he spotted light colored hair and kept moving, feeling like he might pass out or vomit.

It’d been like this during the war, once or twice, like when he’d had his arm blown off, and couldn’t get reality to come into focus around him, everything feeling like a psychedelic circus. Because the car was wrecked, and it was Tony’s car, which meant Tony was hurt, and he _needed_ to find him, but he was also terrified by what he might find.

Even from a distance, he could see blood, and… and…

Strong arms grabbed him, spun him around, and there was Clint, stone faced, jaw set. “Don’t you fucking move, idiot,” he hissed, shaking him hard and shoving him roughly aside. “Let me go first, and…”

“I gotta help him,” was all Bucky managed to squeak out.

The car was upside down, and from where Clint had positioned him, he could see a hand where it hung limply at the end of an equally limp arm, pale fingers curled up toward the palm. On the driver’s side. And no one was moving to help the driver, they were dealing with the passengers of the other wrecked car, which meant… which must mean…

Bucky’s legs went out from under him, Clint catching him under the arms so he didn’t crack his knees too hard. He hunched over, and fought the urge to puke, shaking and feeling his world come crashing down around him.

That morning, he’d woken up sweating his ass off, because Tony had once again become an octopus in his sleep, and was wrapped around him, hair tickling Bucky’s nose. Tony’s forehead was pressed against his neck, there was drool on his chest, and the leg draped over him was making his need to pee far more urgent than it otherwise might have been. Tony’s fingers had twitched against Bucky’s collarbone as he dreamed, and some impressive morning wood was pressing against his hip rather insistently.

Tony had woken up when Bucky’s need to pee eventually won out over his need to remain in that moment forever, and they’d laughed as they peeled apart, skin sticky with sweat. Tony had followed him into the bathroom on zombie autopilot, then brushed his teeth while standing beside Bucky with his forehead pressed against his shoulder, like Bucky was the only thing keeping him upright.

He’d planned on getting a shower, then making them breakfast with what little time he had left before work, but instead he’d found himself back in the bed, tangled up with Tony, kissing and touching and writhing against each other, taking turns with hands, until Tony’s fist finally dragged them both over the messy edge.

And now he couldn’t stop staring at the unmoving hand, while Clint approached, ignoring the police officer announcing it was a waste of time.

They were supposed to have people over, there was a whole plan where Clint would meet Tony’s old partner, and they’d fall for each other, because he wanted Clint to be happy. Clint and his meddling was the reason why _he_ was happy, was with the love of his life. A chance encounter with the “hot detective” had turned into Clint’s personal mission to get them together, and he needed to balance the scales on that one.

He’d told himself he’d been doing fine, and that he didn’t need anyone, but Tony had showed him in so many beautiful ways how wrong he’d been about himself, while also being right. He didn’t need _anyone_ in his life, he needed _Tony_ , had always needed him and not known it until he’d fallen face first in love, and…

Tony had warned him that it sucked being in relationship with a detective, what with the hours, and Tony spending so much time wrapped up in the horrors of what people were capable of doing to each other, but it hadn’t sucked. Not even a little. It was beautiful, and perfect, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Tony, only Clint was wincing as he crouched down to look through the windshield, and it felt like his heart was shaking out of his chest, and…

Clint’s eyes went wide before meeting Bucky’s own, but… but he was _smiling_? And shaking his head, and as if in a dream, or drunk, or just plain losing his mind, Bucky reached into his front pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone, only just realizing that his heart hadn’t been responsible for the odd sensation in his chest.

On the screen, Tony’s adorably scrunched up face was visible, a photo he’d taken on their first date, and cautiously, he swiped to answer, and pressed the phone to the side of his head, only just managing to force a, “Hello?” past his lips.

“He finally answered!” Bucky heard a woman say, and just like that the fragile beginnings of hope came crashing down around him, so that he curled down, almost lying on the ground, not sure what he was supposed to do with himself if he didn’t have Tony, and it wasn’t until he was lowering the phone that he heard, “Bucky?”

“Tony?” he gasped.

“Hey, wait, are you okay? You sound awful, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Bucky rocked back up onto his knees, looking around in confusion. Clint was pushing his way past a police officer, and it sounded like Tony was on the phone, but in that moment he couldn’t trust himself, was pretty sure he’d actually lost his mind with grief and was imagining the phone call entirely.

“Where are you?” he asked, hardly recognizing his own voice.

“Bucky, sweetie, you’re scaring the shit out of me right now,” Tony said, using his detective voice. “I need you to take a deep breath, and tell me if you’re okay.”

He swallowed, shaking his head. “I’m… Tony, _where_ _are you_?” he sobbed. “Because I’m staring at your car right now, and it looks like someone took it out of a crusher at the last minute, then tossed it into an intersection upside down, and…”

“Holy shit,” he heard, followed quickly by, “I’m fine, baby, I’m okay, I promise. Someone stole the car when I went to pick up…”

Bucky hardly heard the rest, relief washing over and through him, leaving him boneless as Clint rushed back to his side. Feebly, Bucky shoved the phone at him, and bent over double with his face in his hands, laughing as he heard Clint yelling.

“We thought you were dead, asshole! What idiot gets their car stolen at the airport, anyway? And were you going to… Oh, well, he probably didn’t see the text, what with _thinking you were dead_. Uh huh. Yeah, I’ll… Cool, see you soon.”

Clint dragged him back to his feet, handed him the phone, and walked him over to the ambulance, flipping off one or two of the people giving them strange looks. Clint was gone for a bit, presumably making sure they weren’t needed, but then he was back behind the steering wheel.

“He’s really okay?” Bucky managed to ask.

“He’s fine, not a scratch on him,” Clint promised, reaching over to squeeze his knee. “We’re picking up him and his cop buddy, and you’re gonna hug him, and it’ll be okay.”

And sure enough, Tony was waiting for them on the corner, was already rushing to the ambulance, and pulling open the passenger door while Clint parked the bus, and then Bucky started sobbing, and flung himself into Tony’s arms.

“I’ve got you,” Tony swore, rocking him and pressing kisses everywhere he could. “I’m fine, it’s all gonna be okay, I promise. Love you, baby, you’re okay, I’m so sorry I scared you.”

Bucky let himself fall to pieces, knowing Tony wouldn’t let him fall too far, would put them all back together for him, even better than they had been. He breathed in the scent of him, reveled in the feeling of having Tony’s body against his own, where it belonged, and then the kissing started.

Everything was right in the universe again. Tony was alive, and was his, and yes, he’d need to spend a bit of time getting over the experience, but that was a small price to pay for having his life handed back to him. If anything, it had made his decision for him—he wasn’t going to wait any longer, was just going to ask Tony to marry him already. But after the kissing.

As if from miles away, he heard voices.

“Idiot left the keys in the car.”

“Surprise it wasn’t running, too.”

“Since he’s a little too wrapped up for introductions, I’m Natasha.”

“Clint. Uh, I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be a while.”

“I should have known something like this would happen. I’m starving, think they’d notice if we snuck off to the diner across the street?”

“Nah. I mean, we could stick around if you wanted to _lose_ your appetite. They’re so in love I swear they’re acting half the time, just to get me riled up. They’ll probably climb in the back and cuddle while staring longingly into each other’s eyes, and decide to get married, and adopt babies or something. Pastrami on rye is the way to go.”

Bucky smiled against Tony’s mouth, and he smiled back, and everything was okay in the universe.

**Author's Note:**

> Playing catch up with posting some Imagine stories over here! Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year~!!! :D


End file.
